Swift crash on I-85 kills co-driver/trainer

I'll never forget the time I watched two CRST drivers in the same truck, both continuously try and back into a dock with numerous drivers outside trying to spot them, they finally both threw in the towel and asked one of us spotting them to back it in for them... That's pretty scary

 

If I was to go back to training again, I would take a student out of one of the Academy's before a so called "training school" any day. My last student was out of one of them and the one that I had before him, out of Phoenix Academy, and what a difference.

 

I agree. At a customer some years back and all of the docks where get set up and straight line back. Watched to pumpkins come in, get set up and angle back, about 45 degree. When finally finished getting in, I asked them why when it was a straight back, and their answer, this is how I was trained and told to do it.

 

How long ago was that?Today's schools and academies I'm seeing all the same,its all about money

 

My last student was less than 1 year ago. Back when I went, over 20 years ago, the school had to be government approved and last a certain minimum of time, and I think that mine was at least 6 weeks. Not government approved, no government money. Before you actually state your opinion, you might need to actually see some of the Swift academy's and what they put the students through. Could then be better, in some cases yes, like PHX does not teach Ally dock because it is not needed for the CDL test in AZ. Lewiston, Memphis, Columbus and others, you better believe that you will learn and be tested because it is required for your CDL. Lewiston, you better believe that you are being trained on Mountain driving since the terminal is at the bottom of a very large hill. Most of the problems is not the Academy's, but what happens after, and that, IMO, is with any training company. I have seen Swift start a class with 30 students and within a couple of days, down to 10.

 

I'll check out their training skills.Something is causing so many accidents and I would like to know what. it is. some students advance faster then others and the ones that aren't quite up to speed should give those folks a second dose of training if need be.

 

I'm sorry, but where does it states that both kilked in that crush were a trainer and trainee? 16 pages about something somebody assumes. RIP to BOTH drivers, whatever their actual work relationship was.

 

How do you explain any incident? Situations happen that a driver just has no control over, it happens, you can't just disregard all the other accidents, but those never get the attention. For example...
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...iched-in-semi-truck-crash-along-i-805.311779/
another Swift accident here on TTR....what about the big rig accident on I-5 south of Sac this morning...local tanker food grade...what about the accident on US 95 south of Fallon, NV two hours ago....nothing happened in UT, or AZ in the last couple hours...nothing in any of the other states?

We see more accidents granted, but there are at least 20-30% more rigs on the road today than there were 25 years ago...and you are correct...the training sucks, but in my mind, the "training" began when every driver out there got their first learners permit! Beginning drivers aren't taught good, let alone safe habits. What does the beginning driver have as an example(?)...LEO's don't use turn signals, don't obey the speed laws, what example is that? Parents teach bad driving habits even before the child is close to begin driving....

Right now, the FMCSA and other "safety" groups are trying their best to address the issue.....YEAH RIGHT sarcasm intended!!!!
What they are doing is trying to find a way to blame someone else for their lack of attendance on the subject. There are a couple of groups attempting to take driver safety and proper etiquette and a sense of responsibility to learning drivers...there are a couple trucking companies (mid west some where) taking their best drivers to the high schools and putting on classes of instruction to these young minds. I have thought about trying it myself but I just can't find the backers to get it going.......

 

There is just so much that you can teach. You can have a student that is great and you are confident and then all of sudden they are by themselves and something happens. You have young ones that think that they know everything and all of sudden, find out that they do not. My one student that I had that was great, in his 20's, but he was also brought up in the military so he knew what training was all about. The one that I kicked off my truck, in his 40's. I have seen posts from some of the new drivers or those looking to get into driving and reading what they write and ask and just shake my head. Worried more about what kind of truck, what does it have inside, instead of asking more about the training. This is why I do not train anymore. I was even training back in the 90';s with Werner. They had a policy back then, when you finally let a student get his/her own truck and if a accident or incident within 6 months, it came back on the trainer and they would investigate. Was the student trained correct.

 

The student died in the hospital